Concerns over child abandonment in KZN amid virus lockdown
Childline KZN says it's deeply disturbed by the recent incidents of newborn babies being abandoned in the province during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The child home says what's concerning is that many of these incidents took place amid Child Protection Week.
Acting Director, Adheshini Naicker was reacting to the arrest of a 27-year-old woman after a baby was found abounded in bushes in the Isithebe area, north of the province, on Sunday.
Naicker says the recent cases speak to how desperate individuals have become as most face financial hardship.
"There are various reasons a mother would abandon a baby and we find the most common to be poverty, rape, incest, depression and sometimes just a sense of being overwhelmed.
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"Sadly some of these moms do it nearly because they are no longer in a relationship with the dad. Others do it because they fear retribution from their families or have no knowledge of the pregnancy.
"Again, I say, there are lots of organisations out there that are able to assist these moms," says Naicker.
